This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We have developed an explant skin model to study wound healing in axolotl skin. Using conventional microscopy we have established that a 2 mm wound repithelializes in less than 10 hours. We are using the LFD to address the following questions. 1) What is the origin of the cells that repithelialize the experimental wound bed? Are they derived from basal or suprabasal cell in the epidermis? 2) What is the rate and direction of cell migration? Does this vary within the migrating epidermis? Does the substrate affect migration?